Joseph Ingraham was the master of the brigantine Hope, a 70-ton American ship that was designed and equipped to make the trip around Cape Horn to the west coast of North America, from there to China, and from China back to Boston. In the late 18th century, American fur traders undertook expeditions to the northwestern Pacific, where they obtained furs, which they brought for sale to the Chinese port of Canton (present-day Guangdong). There they acquired tea, silk, porcelain, and other goods for sale in the U.S. market. This ...